* Fantina is one of two Gym Leaders known to have their origins outside the Pokémon nation. However, it is not confirmed where Fantina is from except her home country uses French as the national language. The other is [[Lt. Surge]], who is from the United States.

* Fantina is one of two Gym Leaders known to have their origins outside the Pokémon nation. However, it is not confirmed where Fantina is from except her home country uses French as the national language. The other is [[Lt. Surge]], who is from the United States.

* Fantina is similar to [[Juan]] in that both speak French (Juan does so in [[Pokémon Adventures]]), and both are {{pkmn|Coordinator}}s and [[Gym Leader]]s. Coincidentally, Juan appeared in a flashback in the episode [[DP093|Fantina debuted in]].

* Fantina is similar to [[Juan]] in that both speak French (Juan does so in [[Pokémon Adventures]]), and both are {{pkmn|Coordinator}}s and [[Gym Leader]]s. Coincidentally, Juan appeared in a flashback in the episode [[DP093|Fantina debuted in]].

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* Fantina has two Pokémon ([[Drifblim (Pokémon)|Drifblim]] and [[Mismagius (Pokémon|Mismagius]]) incapable of learning the [[TM]] she gives to the player upon being defeated, which is [[Shadow Claw]].

In the games

Fantina speaks a mix of French and broken English and is an immigrant from another country. Upon arriving in Sinnoh, she decided to become a Contest performer, so she dresses up in fancy outfits for Pokémon Contests. She considers herself to be a Contest Expert and can occasionally be competed against in Super Contests, in which she uses her Drifblim, nicknamed Loony (Japanese: ばるんBalloon).

In Platinum, she is battled much earlier in the game and will make her Gym available to players as soon as they arrive in Hearthome City. She can be battled again at the Battleground and occasionally visits the Villa. Fantina claims to be a fan of Arcade Star Dahlia's dancing style and a member of the Ribbon Syndicate of the Resort Area. She also mentions making regular visits to the Lost Tower.

Quotes

"Oh, I'm so sorry! Please excuse me. Are you entering a Contest? Tehehe... Enjoy yourself, please! Incidentally, Fantina, the Hearthome Gym Leader, also happens to be a Contest expert. And you may ask yourself, how do I know this? Well, I am Fantina! You may challenge me, but not yet! You must become much stronger. Then, you may challenge me!"

"Ohohoho!! Finally, you have arrived! Since I came to this country, always I try to learn new things. They hold Contests in this city? I say to myself, enfin, I will excel. That's why I dress this way. C'est une performance! Also I study Pokémon very much. I have come to be Gym Leader. And, uh, so it shall be that you challenge me. But I shall win. That's what a Gym Leader does, non?"

After sending out last Pokémon

"Oh, heavens. What is this? Is this my final Pokémon?"

During battle

"Never give up, never surrender!"

When defeated

"You are so fantastically strong. I know now why I have lost."

After being defeated

"I am dumbfounded! So very, very strong! You, your Pokémon, so strong! Your power is admirable! I shall honor it with this Gym Badge!"

"FiveDP/ThreePt Gym Badges... But you must not forget this. There are many other trainers. Strong Trainers, too. There are many more in Sinnoh. Have patience! You must become stronger, one at a time."

She finally appeared in Playing The Leveling Field! where she battled Ash and Zoey. She had a tendency to break into dance regularly, occasionally interspersing French phrases in as well, such as "s'il vous plaît". It was also revealed that she battled Alan twice with him winning the second time. It was revealed in Aiding the Enemy! that Paul also managed to defeat her.

Pokémon

Gengar was the first Pokémon to be used during the Gym battle against Ash in Shield with a Twist!. Gengar went up against Buizel and Ash struggled against the quick Ghost-type, however Buizel was able to use the newly-developed Counter Shield technique and was able to defeat Gengar.

Drifblim is Fantina's main Pokémon, having raised it since it was an Egg. It was first appeared as a Drifloon in Playing The Leveling Field! when it was used in a practice battle against Ash and completely overwhelmed his team with Hypnosis before evolving into Drifblim.

After training, Ash returned for an official Gym battle where Drifblim proved to be more powerful than before, managing to put to sleep and knock out Pikachu and Buizel before being defeated by Chimchar.

In the manga

Fantina first appeared at the Super Contest Hall. When two women were making rude comments about rookie contestants, she sent out her Drifblim to carry them out and throw them into a garbage can. Then, when Diamond, Pearl and Platinum came back to Hearthome City for the Gym Challenge, they discovered that she was the Gym Leader. Saying that her studies for the lifetime passion of Pokémon Contests granted her the title of Hearthome City Gym Leader, she watched as Platinum made her way through the quizzes given by the Gym easily and took up the challenge, after which her Drifblim was beaten after Platinum's Empoleon manipulated it into freezing itself using its own wind, but her Mismagius proved to be much trickier as its Trick Room turned Empoleon's speed against it, and beat it easily, then trapping Platinum and the borrowed Munchlax in an illusion where the Pokémon was in a room full of its favorite sweets and Platinum suffered. Before long though, the girl managed to subvert the illusion in her favor with Pearl's help, and defeated the Mismagius. She later appeared on the Spear Pillar with the other Sinnoh Gym Leaders where she fought Team Galactic Commander Saturn along with Roark and together they defeated him. They later fought Cyrus on the top of the Spear Pillar and with the help of her fellow Gym Leaders, they managed to break his Red Chain controlling Dialga and Palkia. However, it was revealed that the one they destroyed was the artificial one he had made earlier and they were all defeated by him.

Pokémon

Drifblim is the first Pokémon seen on Fantina's team and is her main mode of transportation. Drifblim first appears after Platinum wins her first Pokémon Contest where it throws the two women who attempted to sabotage her Contest in the trash. Drifblim is used to take Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum to the Lost Tower and later appears at the Celestic Ruins where it saves Diamond and Pearl's lives after they fall off of a stone pillar created by Cyrus' Probopass. Fantina used it in her Gym battle against Platinum where it fought her Empoleon, and despite putting up a good fight, it was defeated when Empoleon used her Blizzard to freeze it. Fantina lent it to Platinum after she learned that her father had gone missing and was later lent to Diamond who used it to sneak in the Team Galactic Airship after failing to stop them from capturing Mesprit.

Mismagius is Fantina's strongest Pokémon and main battler. Mismagius was first seen watching Fantina's Drifblim throw the two women in the trash after they attempted to sabotage Platinum's Contest challenge. It was used to battle Platinum in her Gym battle and it fought the Munchlax she borrowed from Diamond, using its powers to create powerful illusions before eventually being defeated by its Fling. It was later used to battle Saturn's Pokémon on the Spear Pillar and later fought Cyrus in order to destroy the first Red Chain.

Duskull was first seen rescuing Diamond and Pearl after they fell off a pillar created Cyrus' Probopass. Fantina used it against Platinum's Munchlax in their Gym battle, where it was easily defeated by Munchlax's Lick attack. It was later used to battle Saturn's Pokémon on the Spear Pillar alongside Mismagius.

In the TCG

Fantina's PokémonCards listed with a blue background are only legal to use in the current Expanded format.Cards listed with a silver background are legal to use in both the current Standard and Expanded formats.

Trivia

During the Gym battle in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, Fantina exclaims "Never give up, never surrender!", the catchphrase from the 1999 science fiction comedy Galaxy Quest.

In the Japanese and French versions she speaks English, while in the Danish, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish versions she has a noticeable French accent.

Fantina's name is likely derived from the character of Fantine in what is perhaps the most famous French novel of all time, Victor Hugo's "Les Misérables", due to Fantina's French nationality and the similarity of the names.

Fantina appears to have two Drifblim: one for battles, and one for Contests. The Drifblim she uses in Contests has a different moveset from the Drifblim she uses in battle.

Fantina's dress shares many elements as the design of the first Pokémon on her party, Drifblim: it has a yellow "X" over a puffed out dress of purple fabric. Although Fantina's design is based on a Drifblim, she doesn't use one in the original Gym match with her in Platinum. In Diamond and Pearl as well as the rematch in Platinum, however, she does use a Drifblim.

In the anime, Ash intended to battle Fantina and win the Relic Badge on his first visit to Hearthome City, as his third Badge. While this would have meant that he went out of order compared to Diamond and Pearl, this is the correct order in Platinum, which came out shortly before Ash finally battled her for the Relic Badge (as his fifth).

Fantina is one of two Gym Leaders known to have their origins outside the Pokémon nation. However, it is not confirmed where Fantina is from except her home country uses French as the national language. The other is Lt. Surge, who is from the United States.